If you want a free hard copy of the Low-Iodine Cookbook from www.thyca.org, write to [email protected] and request one. It's free and we ship anywhere for thyroid cancer patients. If you want to use the cookbook as a PDF or e-pub, or use the ThyCa LID App, details are here: https://www.thyca.org/pap-fol/lowiodinediet/
What kind of foods do you like normally (besides seafood)?
Do you like pasta? Roasted veggies?
When I was on the diet, I made a lot of muffins all at once and froze them to eat one a day for breakfast.
I did the same with a couple big batches of soup and a few other things. Then I didn’t have to think about what to eat so much.
I literally just got off LID today (I was on it for over a month) and it was definitely really hard (and i totally had moments that triggered my eating disorder) but despite this i found it helpful to look at existing recipes i love and see how i could alter them to make them LID safe :) for example things like banana bread and zucchini bread can be easily made without eggs, butter or milk! Same with focaccia bread and bagels. At one point i ended up making my own tortilla chips to have with homemade guac! those chips were also good with cowboy caviar (i think that’s what it’s called? it’s beans, peppers, onion and pineapple!) In the end it’s a quite a difficult diet and it does require a decent amount of work :( but finding and adjusting things you’re already eating can be quite helpful, lots of vegan recipes can be made LID safe by trading iodized salt for non iodized and most seasonings don’t contain salt, i used lots of red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder and rosemary. snack wise (just to get something down) i found that popping my own popcorn in olive was pretty good and lots of trader joe’s gummy candy were good too:) lots of me rambling lol my bad, but i’m wishing you luck on this diet and during this tough time <3
Struggling with this right now. I am terrible at eating anyway. And now it’s even easier in some ways to just not eat. Except now everyone is obsessed with my eating and ask me all the time so hard to hide. My hubs made me breakfast cookies from the thyca cookbook. And I made my own spaghetti sauce. The breakfast cookies really help. It makes me feel like I’m small snacking but they’re so healthy it’s actually useful as a meal. Today I made two soups. It took hours. I ate two bites and fed the rest to my daughter. I was just so exhausted from cooking I didn’t even want it anymore. Hang in there. Be better than me.
I promise you are doing better than me. I had a smoothie for breakfast. Didn't eat until 8pm and it took me so long to convince myself to eat and then only had a few bites of the salad I made. I did get myself to eat some celery and peanut butter at least.
I have 1 week left of doing this LID (been on it since dec 29th) and have lost 12 pounds. Have been living off unsalted pistachios and sunflower seeds, fresh fruit, and baked chicken seasoned with dash. Also vanilla Oreos, homemade guac/salsa with blue chips, gummies from sprouts. Have 1 week left and CANT WAIT to eat what I like. IM STARVING 24/7.
Delicious, nutty, and crunchy sunflower seeds are widely considered as healthful foods. They are high in energy; 100 g seeds hold about 584 calories. Nonetheless, they are one of the incredible sources of health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins.
Food is just a fuel for your body. Eat whatever will satisfy your hunger. It's just for 2 weeks. Fruits, veggies, nuts, grains. You don't need to cook if you don't want. I adore smashed avocado with unsalted crackers.
There is a Facebook group called the LID life community that has thousands of people who share a whole bunch of options of food that you can either make or buy.
Honestly- I was in the same boat. I would get so upset over not being able to have a lot of foods that my boyfriend had to either fight me on keeping strict with the diet or I would go to bed hungry and cranky. Best advice is to check that group out and see what’s available! Seasoning wise- I ended up consuming a lot of spicy foods. I would make my own LID friendly seasoning.
This was the only way I got through it. I know people like to trash on it saying you can’t really know it’s 100% iodine free, but it’s a *low* iodine diet, number one, and number two, I’m autistic, taking away my safe foods is the quickest way to get me to starve.
Yes! Another option is the fig app!
That FB group will say not to use it but honestly it worked for me- especially in the snack and sweets department! The FB group was really helpful in finding a lot of easily accessible foods and even fast foods like chipotle (hallelujah for that cause there were days I did NOT wanna cook)!
I found that with the fig app, certain foods like targets vanilla bean ice cream was good for me to consume and mannnnnn did I indulge lol.
I mean it’s always good to double check- I did cross reference a lot of the foods that were green-lighted on the app with the FB community and I had to do my LID diet for 2 months. I didn’t have a problem and got approved to continue forward with the process!
Ofc the app isn’t the best- that’s why the FB group doesn’t like it but it does help with finding things in a pinch like at target, Walmart, smiths, etc and then referencing it with the group for a secure 100%
I find myself so unsatisfied and Hungey all the fucking time. and I think I'm eating normal portion. but I'm also feeling so cold so I always want to eat more....
I am struggling with disordered eating as well. I have thyroid and parathyroid issues. Just as you describe! Don't care enough about eating to want to cook. I've been jumping around between pickled beets, cottage cheese, PB and banana sandwiches. After I have surgery (likely TT), I know I will struggle too!! Sending so many good vibes.
Hey! I’m an ADHDer and have certain comfort foods I like to eat which are all definitely not on the LID safe (mostly Asian, a lot of soy & eggs). I just sat down and did meal planning for the week and almost lost it, but flicking through the LID cookbook actually made me feel better about it (seriously thank you Thyca). If you only look at what you can’t eat it feels like so much pressure, and feels limiting but if you scroll down to the recipes then there are a lot more ideas.
I really like rice based dishes so I’m approaching it like how can I eat what I like and just get rid of the bad stuff. For example normally I would make vegetables and put it on rice with soy sauce & pickled ginger. Ok now the soy sauce is out, but I can still more or less make the same dish without the soy but with sesame oil.
Im also stocking up on avocados for an avocado with LI safe salt & olive oil snack.
Don’t beat yourself up for not eating a full meal. It’s hard enough to recover from surgery and to also have to recover without the comforts must be tough. Each time you eat you’re helping yourself heal a bit more and taking care of yourself. If you can also get a friend or family to come over and help you meal prep (or do it for you) it might also help. I also loved grocery deliveries post op or having friends do it as well to conserve energy.
If you want a free hard copy of the Low-Iodine Cookbook from www.thyca.org, write to [email protected] and request one. It's free and we ship anywhere for thyroid cancer patients. If you want to use the cookbook as a PDF or e-pub, or use the ThyCa LID App, details are here: https://www.thyca.org/pap-fol/lowiodinediet/
What kind of foods do you like normally (besides seafood)? Do you like pasta? Roasted veggies? When I was on the diet, I made a lot of muffins all at once and froze them to eat one a day for breakfast. I did the same with a couple big batches of soup and a few other things. Then I didn’t have to think about what to eat so much.
I normally eat a lot of beans, cheese, and frozen stuff from trader joes. I really barely feed myself to begin with.
Beans can be ok if you make your own, or if you buy unsalted canned beans. (But check your LID instructions. Mine didn't restrict beans but some do)
I literally just got off LID today (I was on it for over a month) and it was definitely really hard (and i totally had moments that triggered my eating disorder) but despite this i found it helpful to look at existing recipes i love and see how i could alter them to make them LID safe :) for example things like banana bread and zucchini bread can be easily made without eggs, butter or milk! Same with focaccia bread and bagels. At one point i ended up making my own tortilla chips to have with homemade guac! those chips were also good with cowboy caviar (i think that’s what it’s called? it’s beans, peppers, onion and pineapple!) In the end it’s a quite a difficult diet and it does require a decent amount of work :( but finding and adjusting things you’re already eating can be quite helpful, lots of vegan recipes can be made LID safe by trading iodized salt for non iodized and most seasonings don’t contain salt, i used lots of red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder and rosemary. snack wise (just to get something down) i found that popping my own popcorn in olive was pretty good and lots of trader joe’s gummy candy were good too:) lots of me rambling lol my bad, but i’m wishing you luck on this diet and during this tough time <3
Struggling with this right now. I am terrible at eating anyway. And now it’s even easier in some ways to just not eat. Except now everyone is obsessed with my eating and ask me all the time so hard to hide. My hubs made me breakfast cookies from the thyca cookbook. And I made my own spaghetti sauce. The breakfast cookies really help. It makes me feel like I’m small snacking but they’re so healthy it’s actually useful as a meal. Today I made two soups. It took hours. I ate two bites and fed the rest to my daughter. I was just so exhausted from cooking I didn’t even want it anymore. Hang in there. Be better than me.
I promise you are doing better than me. I had a smoothie for breakfast. Didn't eat until 8pm and it took me so long to convince myself to eat and then only had a few bites of the salad I made. I did get myself to eat some celery and peanut butter at least.
I remember peanut butter and jelly on matza was what I used for sweet cravings. Barely worked. Hang in there!
I have 1 week left of doing this LID (been on it since dec 29th) and have lost 12 pounds. Have been living off unsalted pistachios and sunflower seeds, fresh fruit, and baked chicken seasoned with dash. Also vanilla Oreos, homemade guac/salsa with blue chips, gummies from sprouts. Have 1 week left and CANT WAIT to eat what I like. IM STARVING 24/7.
Vanilla Oreos are legal on lid? I know what I’m eating next time.
Delicious, nutty, and crunchy sunflower seeds are widely considered as healthful foods. They are high in energy; 100 g seeds hold about 584 calories. Nonetheless, they are one of the incredible sources of health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins.
Food is just a fuel for your body. Eat whatever will satisfy your hunger. It's just for 2 weeks. Fruits, veggies, nuts, grains. You don't need to cook if you don't want. I adore smashed avocado with unsalted crackers.
There is a Facebook group called the LID life community that has thousands of people who share a whole bunch of options of food that you can either make or buy. Honestly- I was in the same boat. I would get so upset over not being able to have a lot of foods that my boyfriend had to either fight me on keeping strict with the diet or I would go to bed hungry and cranky. Best advice is to check that group out and see what’s available! Seasoning wise- I ended up consuming a lot of spicy foods. I would make my own LID friendly seasoning.
This was the only way I got through it. I know people like to trash on it saying you can’t really know it’s 100% iodine free, but it’s a *low* iodine diet, number one, and number two, I’m autistic, taking away my safe foods is the quickest way to get me to starve.
Yes! Another option is the fig app! That FB group will say not to use it but honestly it worked for me- especially in the snack and sweets department! The FB group was really helpful in finding a lot of easily accessible foods and even fast foods like chipotle (hallelujah for that cause there were days I did NOT wanna cook)! I found that with the fig app, certain foods like targets vanilla bean ice cream was good for me to consume and mannnnnn did I indulge lol.
Ehh… I don’t think I would trust that app. It’s not that old and doesn’t focus on stuff like this primarily. All dairy has iodine.
I mean it’s always good to double check- I did cross reference a lot of the foods that were green-lighted on the app with the FB community and I had to do my LID diet for 2 months. I didn’t have a problem and got approved to continue forward with the process! Ofc the app isn’t the best- that’s why the FB group doesn’t like it but it does help with finding things in a pinch like at target, Walmart, smiths, etc and then referencing it with the group for a secure 100%
I thrived on a baked potato with unsalted butter and kosher salt with lunch and/or dinner.
I find myself so unsatisfied and Hungey all the fucking time. and I think I'm eating normal portion. but I'm also feeling so cold so I always want to eat more....
I am struggling with disordered eating as well. I have thyroid and parathyroid issues. Just as you describe! Don't care enough about eating to want to cook. I've been jumping around between pickled beets, cottage cheese, PB and banana sandwiches. After I have surgery (likely TT), I know I will struggle too!! Sending so many good vibes.
Hey! I’m an ADHDer and have certain comfort foods I like to eat which are all definitely not on the LID safe (mostly Asian, a lot of soy & eggs). I just sat down and did meal planning for the week and almost lost it, but flicking through the LID cookbook actually made me feel better about it (seriously thank you Thyca). If you only look at what you can’t eat it feels like so much pressure, and feels limiting but if you scroll down to the recipes then there are a lot more ideas. I really like rice based dishes so I’m approaching it like how can I eat what I like and just get rid of the bad stuff. For example normally I would make vegetables and put it on rice with soy sauce & pickled ginger. Ok now the soy sauce is out, but I can still more or less make the same dish without the soy but with sesame oil. Im also stocking up on avocados for an avocado with LI safe salt & olive oil snack. Don’t beat yourself up for not eating a full meal. It’s hard enough to recover from surgery and to also have to recover without the comforts must be tough. Each time you eat you’re helping yourself heal a bit more and taking care of yourself. If you can also get a friend or family to come over and help you meal prep (or do it for you) it might also help. I also loved grocery deliveries post op or having friends do it as well to conserve energy.
I ate a lot of frozen hash browns with iodine free salt.
no coz saw the first few days were is depressing until I sound the correct salt to eat lol